Data Management and Sharing Plan Writing Services
Pubrica’s data management specialists write data management and sharing plans for grant applicants, research offices and clinical research teams. Each plan follows the current funder format, including the 2026 NIH structure under NOT-OD-26-046, Horizon Europe and Wellcome, and names the repository, the consent and de-identification approach and the costs for your budget. The NIH policy has not changed since January 2023, but the required plan format has, with word limits the older six-element format did not have, and many templates in circulation still follow the old structure.
- Written to the 2026 NIH format: seven elements, a 300-word limit on justifying any limitation and a 100-word limit on the data inventory table
- A named repository with its access model, because reviewers flag the sentence “a suitable repository will be identified”
- Horizon Europe and Wellcome, each written to its own FAIR-based structure, which differs from the NIH format
- Human participant data addressed, with consent language, de-identification approach and controlled access described in detail
- Costs itemised where the funder allows them, because data management and sharing costs are allowable but often left out of the budget
Written to the current funder formatIncluded
Repository selected and namedIncluded
Human data and consent addressedIncluded
Costs itemised for the budgetIncluded
Promising sharing you cannot deliverNot offered
Funder → format → repository → costed → submitted
- Written to the format in force
- Repository named with its access model
- Consent and de-identification described
- Costs itemised where allowable
- Within the word limits
Service Scope
Four Data Management Plan Service Areas, Available Individually
Pubrica offers data management plan writing as separate services, so you can engage us at any stage, from an initial question to a plan that needs revision.
Who We Serve
Researchers and Organisations We Support with Data Management Plans
We support sponsors, research teams, institutions and decision makers as well as academic researchers.
Deliverables
What Every Data Management Plan Includes
A data management plan is a short document, and it must follow the funder format currently in force.
Format check exampleWord limits are the visible difference: 300 words to justify any limitation on sharing, 100 words for the data inventory table. Templates written to the older six-element structure do not fit.
Example from a planData will be deposited in an appropriate public repository.De-identified individual participant data will be deposited in the NIMH Data Archive under controlled access, with a data use agreement required. Metadata will be public from the date of first publication.
Example from a human subjects sectionWhere the consent does not permit broad sharing, that is a genuine limitation and belongs in the plan. Where consent could have permitted broader sharing, the plan is where that gap becomes visible.
Example from a budget justificationThese costs are allowable under the NIH policy but are often omitted, which means the work is later funded from a budget that did not plan for it.
The samples shown are illustrative and anonymised. Hover over a sample to replay it.
Compliance and Standards
Funder Data Management Policies and Plan Formats
Each funder has its own required structure, so a single plan cannot serve every funder.
Data management and sharing (in force since 25 Jan 2023)
The policy applies to all NIH applications generating scientific data. The policy is unchanged; the plan format was updated in 2026 under NOT-OD-26-046, with implementation in NOT-OD-26-100.
Horizon Europe DMP (FAIR-based, deliverable at month 6)
A different structure from the NIH plan, organised around the FAIR principles and delivered as a project deliverable rather than at application.
FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable)
The framework around which most non-US funders organise their requirements, which is why a plan written for NIH usually needs rework for a European funder.
Quality management (cert. H3CR9TCU20251212INDQM10N)
Our certified quality system governs how work is run, recorded and released.
Responsible Use of AI
Our Approach to AI Use in Data Management Plans
Data management plans are highly templated, so generated text can easily state an outdated funder policy with confidence.
Why We Do Not Publish AI Accuracy Figures
Accuracy figures for AI tools are usually reported by the companies that sell them.
Pubrica therefore does not quote a self-generated accuracy figure, because it would carry the same conflict of interest. Instead, we tell you which tool was used on your project, at which stage, and what a specialist changed afterwards.
Our Process
How Our Data Management Plan Writing Process Works
The funder determines the plan structure, and the content follows from the data types your study will generate.
Funder Requirements and Plan Format
We confirm the funder and establish the current plan format, which for NIH applications is the 2026 format rather than older templates in circulation.
Data Types and Repository Selection
We inventory the data types and select a repository for each, with its access model, standards and preservation terms.
Consent and Data Sharing Limitations
We review the consent language, set the de-identification approach and state any genuine limitation on sharing within the word limit.
Costing and Submission
We itemise costs for the budget justification where allowable and deliver the plan within the format’s limits.
Our Experts
Your Data Management Plan Team
A named team of subject specialists stays with your project from scoping to delivery. Your project coordinator introduces each team member by name before work begins.
Reviews the scientific content for accuracy and confirms that each conclusion is supported by the evidence. Each expert is matched to your field of research.
Checks that statistical methods, tables and conclusions are consistent with the analysis plan and that the analysis can be reproduced.
Prepares, cleans and documents the data so that every step from raw data to final output can be traced and reproduced.
Independently checks code, tables and outputs against the analysis plan. Discrepancies are logged and resolved before delivery.
Packages
Data Management Plan Service Packages
Data management plans are our smallest research-services engagement, and they usually have a fixed grant submission deadline.
Single funder plan
One application
Quoted per projectBased on data types and complexity
Delivery Days
- ✓Written to the current format
- ✓Data types inventoried
- ✓Repository named with access model
- ✓Consent and limitations addressed
- ✓Within the word limits
- ✓Cost lines for the budget justification
Tell us the funder and submission date, because formats differ between funders and the NIH format changed in 2026.
Deliverables Request a quoteMultiple funders
The same study, several applications
Quoted per projectBased on funders and overlap
Delivery Quoted by scope
- ✓One data inventory, several plans
- ✓Each written to its own funder structure
- ✓Repository choices kept consistent
- ✓Differences between plans documented
- ✓Consistent with your consent documents
The data inventory is shared across plans, but each plan follows its own funder structure.
Deliverables Request a quoteTemplate and training
Research offices and cores
Quoted per projectBased on institution size and scope
Delivery Quoted by scope
- ✓Institutional template to the current format
- ✓Repository guidance for your common data types
- ✓Boilerplate for shared infrastructure
- ✓Worked examples by study type
- ✓Briefing for research administrators
Suitable for research offices that review many plans each cycle and correct the same issues repeatedly.
Deliverables Request a quoteSend your draft plan and we will check it against the current format at no cost. For NIH applications, an outdated format is the most common issue in drafts.
Benefits
Benefits of a Pubrica Data Management Plan
Four reasons clients commission this service.
Quality Assurance
Our Service Commitments and Limitations
Our service terms are set out in full below, before you commit.
Our revision commitment
Revision Support Within the Agreed Scope
We continue working within the agreed scope until the work meets the agreed requirements. We offer continued revision rather than a refund, because a refund ends the engagement without delivering the work.
01
Unlimited revisions within the agreed scope
There is no limit on revision rounds or time within the agreed scope. If the work does not meet what we agreed, we revise it. Changes that widen the scope are quoted separately, and we confirm which applies before work starts.
02
Corrections at Our Cost
If the work needs correction because of an error in our analysis or writing, we correct it at no cost.
03
Delivery on the agreed date
We agree a delivery date that we can meet. If a milestone is at risk, we tell you early rather than on the day.
04
Mutual NDA on request
Signed in both directions before you send anything, at no cost. We are also happy to sign your NDA instead of ours.
05
Final decisions remain with you
We advise, give our view and tell you clearly when we disagree, but decisions about what is published in your name are always yours.
Average client rating
From 3,000 responses to Pubrica’s own post-delivery survey, sent to every client at handover between January 2024 and June 2026. This figure comes from our own records.
Service limitations. We cannot guarantee outcomes decided by others, such as an editor’s decision, a funding panel’s decision or a regulator’s assessment. Within the agreed scope, we guarantee the work: completed to the standards named on this page, delivered on the agreed date and corrected at our cost if we made an error.
FAQs
Data Management Plan FAQs
If your question is not answered here, please ask an expert. No quote is required.
The policy has not. The Data Management and Sharing Policy has been in effect since 25 January 2023 and its requirements are the same.
The plan format changed in 2026 under NOT-OD-26-046, with implementation described in NOT-OD-26-100. Seven elements, and word limits the earlier structure did not have.
It can, but reviewers flag it. The plan should name a repository with a stated access model.
If no suitable repository exists for your data type, saying that explicitly and describing what you will do instead is a much stronger answer than deferring the question.
Then that is a genuine limitation, and it belongs in the plan, justified within the word limit. The limitations element exists for this purpose.
Where consent forms are still being drafted, their wording determines what you can share for years to come, so it is worth addressing early.
Under the NIH policy, reasonable costs of data management and sharing are allowable and can be requested. They are often left out.
We itemise them for the budget justification, including curation, repository fees, de-identification effort and preservation, so that the work is funded rather than absorbed.
Related Services
Related Research Services
Services that support the application, the data and the obligations described in the plan.
1THE APPLICATIONsame deadline
Grant writingThe proposal that the plan accompanies. Research proposalDesign, aims and feasibility.2THE DATA ITSELFwhat the plan describes
REDCap database buildRepository deposit for your data. Research data serviceDeposit, curation and citation.3AFTER THE AWARDobligations that follow
NIH public access policyDeposit on acceptance, required since July 2025. BiostatisticsAnalysis and reproducible code.Request a Free Format Check of Your Draft Data Management Plan
For NIH applications, the check confirms whether the draft follows the 2026 plan format.